Picture-frame



(No ModeL) J. G. BATTERISON.

PICTURE FRAME. No. 264,224. Patented SeptflZ, 1882.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES e. BATTERSON, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT.

PlCTURE-FRAM E.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 264,224, dated September 12, 1882.

Application filed February 6, 1882. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JAMES G. BATTERSON, of Hartford, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Picture- Frames; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, whereby a person skilled in the art can make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

Like letters in the figures indicate the same parts.

My improvements relate to frames for pictures, mirrors, and the like which are made with a metal shell and intended to be gilded or plated in the customary manner. Such frames have heretofore been made of thin sheet metal struck in dies to give them relief or ornamentation, and have generally been formed of one piece of metal.

The object of my invention is to provide a frame which shall have all the beauty of form and ornamentation of the ordinary gilt wooden frames, and at the same time be stronger and more durable, and present a better surface for the gilding or plating.

In the accompanying drawings, illustratin my invention, Figure 1 shows a front view of my improved frame having a portion of the same ornamented and the rest plain. Fig. 2 is a cross-section through the two sides of the frame on the dotted line of Fig. 1.

My improved frame is made of rolled metallic plates having any desired figure or ornamentation rolled on the surface of the plate before it is made up into the frame. The metal used is preferably what is known as britannia, or any of the soft alloys used in making plated ware. A harder metal can be used, but it cannot receive the same degree of ornamentation so cheaply, nor can it be made up so readily into the form required for the frame.

The ornamental plates are intended to be rolled flat and then cut into suitable shape'to be soldered together to make the frame of the proper form. If the plates are to havea curved shape they are bent in a separate roll or die provided for the purpose.

In the drawings, A B (l D E are the rolled plates of which the frame shown is composed. They are soldered together at the edges, being either lapped or mitered in the customary manner of uniting such edges. All of the plates shown are flat except E,which is shown as bent or curved. At the corners of the frame all of the plates united are cut to the proper miter for the corner and are soldered together.

F is a backing made to fit into the metallic portion of the frame for the purpose of filling out and strengthening the metal shell and forming a suitable means of attachment for the picture. This backing is made of paperpulp or a pulp made of fibrous material agglutinated together, and is cast into the metallic shell in a liquid or plastic form, so that when it hardens it will fill out and protect the metal from indentation, and will remain firmly attached to it, not being liable to shrink and become loose.

By means of my invention a picture-frame can be made much stronger and more durable than those now in use. No part of it is liable to scale or crack off, and the metallic surface offers a much stronger hold for the gildin g than the plaster-of-paris and other materials with which the surfaces of ordinary wooden frames are finished.

What I claim as my invention is- 1. As a new article of manufacture, a picture or other frame each side of which is composed of aseries of rolled metallic plates united at their ends and edges, substantially as described.

2. In combination with a frame having its respective sides and ends composed of a series of rolled metallic plates united at their ends and edges, as above described and claimed, a backing of agglutinated fibrous material, sub stantially as set forth.

JAMES Gr. BATTERSON. Witnesses:

A. L. HUNT,

DANFORD BAKER. 

